if your kids have never had the flu, what do you feed them?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anecdata aside, diet is not going to make more than a small difference at the margins.

The most salient factors are probably, in this order:

1) Pure luck in terms of encountering carriers
2) Genetic/in utero/birth circumstance influence on the immune system that you have almost no control over
3) Flu shot
4) Hygiene (Maybe tied for #3)
5) Pretty much everything else that has any influence at all (sleep, diet, etc.)

Agree with this. I'm the PP with the physician spouse. I will say whenever spouse has a string of shifts and is severely sleep-deprived, they get a cold/flu. I think at least for some people, there is a link between sleep deprivation and immunity.

I'd even say that genetics is the most important because even if you do catch a virus, you might have zero or only mild symptoms. A few years ago me, my kid, and my spouse all came down with the flu (we were all vaccinated) and while my spouse and I suffered for at least a week, my kid pretty much just had a slightly elevated temperature for a day and that was it. And probably 90% of the kid's diet consists of garbage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids are 8 and 9. They are both generally healthy but they have each had the flu (influenza) 3 times in their lives. Several family friends of ours, with similarly aged kids, have never had the flu, despite being exposed repeatedly. I know there is so little we know about this but one thing I noted is that these families eat berries daily. If your kids seem to avoid getting the flu do you think it’s because of any dietary habits?

Fascinating. My almost 6 year old has basically survived on strawberries, raspberries, cups of milk + the occasional cookie or cracker, since like age 3. She's also healthier than anyone else in the family, and has more energy.

[Anonymous]

This thread gives me a headache. The formula is not hard to crack - flu shots + handwashing. Not berries. Not breastfeeding. *sigh*

[Anonymous]

Handwashing doesn't prevent transmission from droplets in the air. It's helpful but not a guarantee.

And a diet of berries isn't either. My kids live off berries and milk and have a healthy diet in general, similar to everything recommended here - and one of the three comes down with the flu every year (we do vaccinate).

[Anonymous]

I have never had flu and rarely have colds. I was a chronic nailbiter from a young age and played outside all the time so my sister theorizes that I was exposed to all sorts of germs from a very young age and this built my robust immune system. Ha ha.

[Anonymous]

I have no idea if we have ever had the flu. We have had various viruses but I don't know if they were influenza or not.

[Anonymous]

Their kids may have had the flu but they don’t know it. My kid once tested positive for the flu with just a slight temp that was gone after 6 hours. Under normal circumstances I would have never taken him to the doctor and never found out he had the flu.

[Anonymous]

Elderberry syrup.

[Anonymous]

I’m 31 and have never in my life had the *actual* flu A or flu B. I wonder if when I eventually do catch it someday,
it will hit me harder than if I’d had it a couple times as a young person. I don’t eat that healthily but have always been naturally thin/fit (sports/staying active) and very vigilant about hand washing for as long as I remember.

[Anonymous]

I don't have kids, but I've never had the flu and rarely got sick as a kid and almost never as an adult. Get the flu shot sporadically/if I remember.

I have and have always had a normal-to-poor standard American diet. Never taken vitamins or anything. Hand-washing was never emphasized growing up. This is gross to admit, but I don't really wash my hands except after I use a public restroom, while cooking if I'm handling raw meat, or if they feel sticky/grimy or are visibly dirty with something. I could go a whole day without washing my hands and probably frequently do.

I was breastfed for two years, but I'm pretty sure it's gotta just be a genetic luck of the draw. Or maybe it's just because I'm not around kids much? I do work in close quarters with many different people, though.

[Anonymous]

I breastfeed both kids for over a year. We never get the flu shot. Before flu season, I increase their multivitamin intake by 1/3. They also take Sambucol tablets daily during flu season. Occasionally, we all drink echinacea tea. Also lots of hand washing especially when they first walk in the house.

[Anonymous]

Honestly, OP, I think it's more a combination of genetics and hygiene than anything else. Make your kids wash their hands a lot. Change their clothes right when they get home from school, or from birthday parties.

[Anonymous]

My child has an autoimmune disease that is basically his immune system in overdrive. He literally never gets sick, but still manages to get the flu.

[Anonymous]

3 kids, (13, 13, 10).
None of them have ever had the flu.
2 of my 3 kids have never had antibiotics. I think this has helped strengthen their immune systems.
At this point it's been 5 years since any of them have been sick at all.

That said, it's probably more luck of the draw and/or genetics than anything.

[Anonymous]

I feed them dead influenza.

Oh wait, that’s called a vaccine.


Well, anyway, it works.